Articulated cover for journal boxes



Aug. 14, 1934. {R VIBERG 1,969,865

ARTICULATED COVER FOR JOURNAL BOXES I Filed Jan. 27, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet1 ii w INVENT P ERNESIZRVIBERG ATTORNEY ARTICULATED COVER FOR JOURNALBOXES Filed Jan. 27, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 f v 1" a; 5 A -Q. i

5 18 I1 $2 2 :i LO 5 5' i 5i k j) d INVENTOB ERNES'lZRVlBERG ATTORNEYAug. 14, 1934. I E, V|BERG 1,969,865

ARTICULATED COVER FOR JOURNAL BOXES Filed Jan. 27, 1953 s Sheets-Sheet sINVENTOR ERNEST.R.V\B ERG I I N BY AQTTORNEY tion.

cation of the lid'closing spring and Patented Aug. 14, 1934 1,569,865.ARTICULATED COVER FORUJOURNAL BOXES Ernest R. Viberg, Montreal, Quebea'anada. f

Application anuary 27,

1933, seriarivo. 653,879

7 Claims. (01. t es-475* 1 This invention relates to hooded journal boxcovers of the articulated type in which the component elementsareassembled in relatively movable relation. to permit accurate fitting ofthe lid portion of the assembly to ensure complete closure of thejournal box opening. r i More particularly, the present inventionresides in the provision of an improved articulated cover assembly inwhich the design of the component elements, comprising the lid proper,the lid closing spring, and the hood or spring housing, is improved sothat the assembly of these elements in interlocking relatively movablerelation and the application of such assembly to the journal box isgreatly facilitated.

A particular feature of the present invention resides in providing thelid and hood elements of the cover assembly with complementary aperturedportions through which extensions of the lid closing spring are passedto form part ofthe fastening means by which the lower portions of thelid and hood are secured together in rela* tively movable relation. I

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of novelfastening means between the hood and the upper portion of the lid whichserves, in conjunction with the lid closing spring, to prevent completeseparation of the component parts of the cover assembly during therelative movement which takes place between these parts when the lid isfitted to the journal box'and during movement of the lid to open orclosed position. Other objects, characteristic features and advantagesof this invention will be more readily understood from the followingdetailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,in which I i Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an articulated coverassembly provided in accordance with this inven- Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the assembly appear- [ng in Fig. 1,with theexception of thelid closing spring which is omitted for the sake of clearness. Fig. 3 isa vertical sectional view through the cover assembly taken substantiallyalong the line 3-3 of Fig. l. A portionof the journal-"box is also shownin this view to illustrate the manner in which the cover assembly isap'plied thereto.

Fig. 4 is a front view of the lid portion of the cover assembly as itappears prior to the' applithe hood or spring housing.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal'sectional view taken substantiallyalong the line 5-5 of-Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fronts-view housing per se. l

,Fig. 7:isja".fragmentary front elevation of a modified cover assemblyprovided accordance with this invention. J Fig. 8 isaisideelevation ofthe assembly appearing in Fig.1: A portion-of the. journal box is alsoindicated by dotted lines in this view to indicate the manner inwhichthe cover assembly is applied thereto. y I

Fig. 9 is a view similarto' Fig. 8 but showing a'further modificationvof'the cover assembly. -Fig.'10 is a side elevation'of themodifiedcover assembly appearing in Ffig. 9.-

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional viewtakensubstantiallyalong the line 1l--l1of Fig; 12 is a'fragmentary detailview illustrating a' slight modification of the construction appearinginFigsal toB inclusive.

Fig. l3-is afragmentary detail view illustrating a slightmodification-with respect to the-pivotal connection between the lid andhood elements of of the hood. or spring 'the'coverass'embly; f

1 The articulatedcover assembly appearing in Figs'L-l to 6 inclusivecomprisesa lid 11, a lid closing spring l2,-and ahood or spring housing13.

- A pair of hooks l4'are cast integral with the upper edge of thelid 11and project beyond the isprovided 'with recesses 15 and with a pair ofintegral lugs 16 located adjacent the inner sides 'ofthe' recesses; Thefront'wall of the hood 13. presents parallel-transversely curvedportions 17 and '18 extending between the side walls '19,

which carry the integral pintle receiving sleeves -20an'd 2 1. Attheirlowerends the side walls 19 of the hood are shaped to providesubstantially in a plane substantially parallel with the outer -surfaceof the lid 11 and have their upper ex;-

tremities' shaped to provide rounded portions 26 loosely fitted beneaththe hooks 14.

The li'dclosing spring 12 is at'orsion spring-presen'ting' twd'coils' 27and 2B connected by an in- I iterr'nediate U-shaped'portion 29 w'hichc0nsti-' "tutesan integral continuation of theinner'terminalconvolutions of the 'coil and carries a roller 30. Theouter convolutions of the coils 27 and 28 are extendedto provide *a'pairof parallel side outer surface of the lidasshown to advantage in Figs. 2and-3. The c'en'tral portion of the lid arms 31 having their lower endsbent outwardly at right angles to provide pin-like portions 32 whichextend through the openings 24 of the lugs 16 and through theregistering openings 23 formed in the eyelet members 22 of the hood. Asshown to advantage in Fig. 3 the curved front Wall portion 18 of thehood serves as a fulcrum pocket in which the coils 27-and28 of the'lidclosing spring are seated, the U-shaped portion 29 of the lid closingspring, together with the roller 30, being housed by the upper frontwall portion 1'7 and the side walls 19 of the hood the recesses 15.Relative vertical movement of the lid and hood parallel with the frontface of which also serve as a housing for thejournal box lug The mannerin which the articulated cover a's-' sembly is applied to the journalbox is "clearly shown in Fig. 3, in which 34 designates a journal boxhaving the usual mouth opening and pintle' lug 36, the latter'beingprovided with the.

customary angularly related cam faces 3'7 and 38 adapted to co-operatewith the roller 30 of the lid closing spring 12 to hold the lid inclosed or open position. The pintle; receiving sleeves 20 and 21.:of thehood 13 are disposed at'opposite sides of the lug 36 and receive theends'of the pintle 39 which passes loosely through said lug. In thepresent instance the outer endof the pine tle receiving sleeve 20 isshown partly closed by an annular flange 20' which providesan abutmentfor one end of the pintle 39, theother end of which is adapted to beengaged by one or more bent pintle retainingtongues provided at theouter end of a pintle retaining liner 41. fitted T in the pintle sleeve21',saidpintle retaining liner then becomes effective to retain the lidliners 41 in both ofv the pintle sleeves of the hood resides in the factthat these liners take thewear of the pintle and may be replaced atvarelatively small cost when unfit for further service. When the lid is inthe closed position shown in Fig. 3 the roller 30 bears on the cam face37.0f the lug 36 so that the spring 12 exerts pressure against thecentral portion of the lid :11 tohold-thelid firmly against thecontacting surfaces vof the journal box surrounding the journalboxopening 3 5. .When the lid is raised to open position the roller 30rides over the cam face 37 of the lug 36 and onto the cam face 38 sothat the spring in its open position. l e v I The manner inwhich the lid11 and the hood 13 are secured together in assembled relation permitsthese, parts to have a certain. freedom of relative sliding andangularmovement which,

as. is wellunderstood in the art, is frequently :necessary in order toensure proper fittingof the cover assembly to completely close thejournal box opening in accordance with ;A.R.-A. requirevments relativeto exclusion; of dust, water, etc. Inthis connection it will be notedthat acertain amount .of clearance is reserved between the hooks 14ofthe lid and the co-operating rounded portions 26 of the hood; It willalso be observed .that a certain amount of clearance isreserved .between'theey'elet members 22 ofthe hood-and the side walls of the lid recesses15in which these members areengaged.' ,Due'to this clearance .1. and tothe mannerin which the eyelet members placed for assembly purposes.

22 of the hood are pivotally connected to the lugs 16 of the lid by theextensions 32 of the lid closing spring, it will be seen that the lidand hood are capable of what may be termed universal movement withrespect to each other. Horizontal sliding movement of the lid and hoodparallel with the front face of the journal box is permitted by reasonof the sliding fit obtaining between the .lid hooks '14- and theco-operating rounded members 26 of the hood and by reason of the factthat the eyelet members 22 of the hood are free to have a limitedlateral movement in the journal box is provided for by the reserva-.tion; of. a certain amount of clearance between the rounded members 26of the hood and the -=overlying portions of the lid hooks 14 and by-,making the extensions 32 of the spring 12 slightly smaller than theopenings 23 and 24 through .whichithey extend. The looseness of theupper connectionsbetween the hood and the lid as represented by theinterengaging elements 14 and 26,. as well as .the looseness of thelower pivotal connections afiorded by the extensions 32 of the lidclosing spring, provide for a certain relative angular; movement of thehood and lid in various. directions. I .JInFigs. 7 and 8, I have shown amodified cover assemblyin which each of the previously mentioned hooks14 is replaced by a stud 43 cast integral withfthe outer face of the lid11. This stud is passed through an opening formed in a lug 44 castintegral with the hood 13' and is made hollow at its outer end so thatthis end may then beiriveted over or upset to form a head 45. Theclearance reserved between the head 45 and the lid 11 is. greater thanthe' thickness of the lug ;44 in order, to provide for relative movementbetween the lid and hood. The opening in the lug 44 through which thestud 43 passes is also preferably made larger than the stud in order. toprovide for a certain relative movement of the lid and hood in'avertical direction.

The further modification shownin Figs. 7 and 8 resides in the provisionof two lugs 16 lying at opposite sides of the recess 15' in-which theeyelet 22 of the hood is fitted. These lugs 16 are connected together asat 16a to form a boxlike housing for the eyelet 22 and are both providedwith openings registering with the openings'of the eyelet -.to receivethe extensions 32 of the lid closing spring. The other parts appearingin Figs. 7 and 8 are the same'as described in connection with thepreceding figures.

jIn thejfurther modification illustratedin Figs.

-9,to,11, each sidewall of the hood 13is provided with an integraloutwardly projecting lug 46 loosely-fittedv in a housing 4'7 castintegral with the outer face of V the lid 11 so that these parts 46 and47 perform substantially the same function as the parts 14 and 26 ofFig.1 and the parts 43 and .44 of Figs. '7' and 8. As shown moreparticularly in Fig. 11, thelugs 46 are provided .with inclined surfaces46a which enable these lugs. 46 to be sprung past the housing members 47and into interlocking engagement therewith. In this connection ;it willbe understood that there is suflicient 'spring in the side walls 19 ofthe hood to permit the lugs 46 to. be sprung past the closed outer endwalls 47a of the casing 47 when pressure is applied through the agencyof a suitable press in which the 1id and hood are In each: of theconstructions described in the foregoing, the side walls 19 of the hood13 may be provided with registering openings 19a for the reception of aspring retaining pin such as that forming part of the subject matterdisclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 642,065 filed Nov. 10,1932.

In Fig. 12 there is shown a slight modification of the hooks 14 providedat the upper edge of the lid. In this case the hooks 14 are made ofgreater length as compared with Figs. 1 and 2 so that the free ends ofthe hooks may be bent inwardly from the dotted line to the full lineposition shown in Fig. 12 to engage beneath the co-operating members 26of the lid. The advantage of this construction is that the portions ofthe members 14 extending beneath the co-operating members 26 will serveto hold the lid to the hood in case of failure of the pivotalconnections afforded by the outwardly bent portions 32 of the springarms 31.

In the modification shown in Fig. 13, the lower ends of the spring legs31, instead of being bent outwardly to provide the portions 32 aspreviously described, are left straight and inserted in suitable sockets31a cast integral with the outer face of the lid. In this case the lugs16 of the lid may be pivotally connected with the eye members 22 of thehood by suitable rivets 32a, one of which appears in Fig. 13. Theserivets 32a may, of course, be replaced by bolts or other suitable formsof pivotal connections that may be easily removed.

Having thus fully described what I now conceive to be the preferredembodiments of my invention, it will be understood that various othermodifications may be resorted to within the scope and spirit of theappended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An articulated cover assembly for journal boxes comprising a lid, ahood overlying the upper portion of the lid and provided with aperturedportions registering with similar apertured portions of the lid locateda substantial distance below the upper edge of the lid, a U-shapedspring mounted between the lid and hood with the arms of the springextending downwardly along the outer face of the lid, the lower ends ofsaid arms being bent outwardly to form pivots passing through the saidregistering apertured portions of the lid and hood, said hood having aportion thereof projecting beyond the upper edge of the lid and providedwith pintle receiving openings, and fastening means loosely connectingthe hood to the lid adjacent the said upper edge of the lid.

2. An articulated cover assembly for journal boxes comprising a lid, ahood pivotally secured to the lid, a substantial distance below theupper edge of the lid, lugs projecting horizontally from the side wallsof the hood adjacent the upper edge of the lid, and projections carriedby the lid adjacent its upper edge, said projections being in the formof casings receiving said lugs there in, said hood having a portionthereof projecting beyond the upper edge of the lid and provided withpintle receiving openings.

3. An articulated cover assembly for journal boxes comprising a lid, ahood, loose pivotal connections between the lid and hood located asubstantial distance below the upper edge of the lid, apertured lugsprojecting outwardly from the sides of the hood adjacent the upper edgeof the lid and studs carried by the lid and passing through saidapertured lugs, the free ends of said studs being headed to retain thelugs thereon.

4. An articulated cover assembly for journal boxes comprising a lid, ahood, upper and lower fastening means loosely connecting said lid andhood, said upper fastening means comprising studs projecting from theouter face of the lid adjacent its upper edge and passing throughapertured portions of the hood lying parallel with the said outer faceof the lid.

5. An articulated cover assembly for journal boxes comprising a lid, ahood overlying the upper portion of the lid and provided with aperturedportions registering with similar apertured portions of the lid locateda substantial distance below the upper edge of the lid, and a springdevice mounted between the lid and hood presenting a pair of armsextending downwardly along the outer face of the lid, the lower ends ofsaid arms being bent outwardly to form pivots passing through thesaidregistering apertured portions of the lid and hood.

6. An articulated cover assembly for journal boxes comprising a lid, ahood overlying the upper portion of the lid and presenting side wallshaving their lower extremities pivotally connected to the centralportion of the lid, members projecting outwardly from the upper portionof the lid and provided with sockets facing towards the side walls ofthe hood and lateral projections from the side walls of the hoodreceived in said sockets, said last mentioned projections being providedwith bevelled surfaces to facilitate springing of said projections intosaid sockets.

7. An articulated cover assembly for journal boxes comprising a lid, ahood overlying the upper portion of the lid and provided with side wallshaving portions thereof offset outwardly to form lateral projections,socket members formed integral with the upper portion of the lid andreceiving said projections therein, and means pivotal- ERNEST R. VIBERG.

